Showing posts with label 1930's fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1930's fashion. Show all posts

Friday, April 18, 2014

Back to Blogging with a Sew Expensive... Simplicity 2229

It has been a very strange month. Recently I have been able to get back to working a bit and have found it a very welcome distraction from... everything else.
I've been trying to figure out how to ease myself back into blogging next but - this being my first experience with this kind of life-altering grief - I didn't have the foggiest idea of how to do it. When is too soon? Do I have anything worth writing? Can I even sit still at a computer that long without dissolving into a puddle of tears? Do my readers really want to be depressed to death?

As with some things, ripping the band-aid off is, I think, the only way to do it. But I am starting easy. A nice, happy Sew Expensive post should do nicely.



These posts always make me happy. Shopping for patterns is a fantastic coping mechanism and last month, as I was trying to take my mind off of other horrors, I turned to Ebay for all of the lovely distractions offered there.

This one I bookmarked because it was just too pretty not to talk about. Simplicity 2229 recently sold on Ebay for an uncomfortable, yet relatively reasonable $157.64.


Was it worth it? Well, yes and no. There's always the debate of a pattern being worth what one person is willing to pay for it. And sure, if you're more interested in say, making a reproduction of the dress, then why not? But from a pattern collector/ seller standpoint, the sad condition of the envelope has me shaking my head and mouthing a big "Nope."

Yes it's quite rare, obviously this pattern doesn't come up for sale very often, but if you just want to sew a dress, then I think The Vintage Pattern Lending Library or another pattern reproduction company would be your best bet.
I think about the value of gown patterns more in depth about once a year - usually when the date of the next Air Force ball gets announced to all and sundry.
And were I to make a gown, and not use one of my own personal collection, or one of the gown patterns from Mrs. Depew Vintage, then VPLL would be the way to go. And if I had to choose, I would choose this beauty:

McCall 7595 Pattern Reproduction by The Vintage Pattern Lending Library.

At the fantastic price of $17.50, wouldn't you agree?
And if I may ask, what is the most you've ever spent on a sewing pattern, and why?
For me, it was to get my hands on one of my much sought Simplicity S-Series patterns, and I spent $105. Shhh, don't tell my husband!


Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Modes et Travaux... What was in style for November 1937?

Happy holiday week, my dear readers! I have a whole week off from classes thanks to Thanksgiving break (for which I am eternally grateful) and I'm using that time to catch up on Mrs. Depew Vintage projects and  a few blog posts!

Modes et Travaux no. 430 from November, 1937.

Today for you I have something that just made me swoon. A glimpse of Modes et Travaux from November of 1937. (Pronounced "mode eh travoh" for my English speaking friends).

So what was so in demand for exactly 76 years ago? Yards and yards of lace!

"Lace for small or big evenings!"
Can you believe that there were sewing patterns on offer at the time? One could simply pop down to the corner newsstand, pick up a gorgeous fashion magazine, and then for a mere 13 frances, one could order the perfect evening gown pattern to make in time for a Chirstmas gala. If that wasn't easy enough, you could even order the lace or fabric featured from the same magazine!


Wouldn't it be great if Vogue offered a similar service?!

These gorgeous dresses made my brain go all sorts of happy places which led me to a point where Madeleine Vionnet tickled my memory. After a bit of searching, I remembered where I had seen it:

Madeleine Vionnet gown - Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I often browse the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website for goodies like this.

Madeleine Vionnet gown - Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This gown is from 1939 but it first perfectly with the fashion spread above, don't you think?
Anyways, I'm off to put a few pies in the oven in anticipation of having my oven occupied tomorrow.

Have a happy week!